Humidifier.



. DE SMITH.

HUMIDIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. as. 1906.

PATENTED AUG. 20, 1907.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY DE SMITH, OF ROCHESTER,

OF ROCHESTER, NEW

HUMIDIFIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

Application filed November 23,1906- Serial No. 344,780.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, HENRY Dn SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Humidifiers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to humidifiers and has more special reference to a humidifier adapted for use in moistening so-called stay material used in the manufacture of paper boxes. This stay material is usually formed of tough fibrous paper adhesively coated or gummed on one side thereof which, for certain commercial uses, is cut into long strips and put up in the form of rolls. In the subsequent use of this stay material it is necessary that it be sufficiently pliable to readily conform to any shape to which it may be subjected in the operation of applying the same to a box. Such material, however, is obviously very susceptible to atmospheric conditions and, in the event of being left for any considerable time in a warm or dry place, as it is liable to be in factories, it dries out very quickly and, by reason of its adhesive coating, becomes more or less brittle and loses that degree of pliability desirable for its most efficient use.

Another undesirable feature resulting from the undue drying out of the stay material is this: When such stay material is used on box-corner staying machines it is usually placed on a reel from which it is fed by suitable feeding mechanism to a position between co-acting clamping dies which operate to press the stay material upon the corners of an interposed box. During the passage of the stay material from the reel to the clamping dies, it is fed over a dampening roller for the purpose of having its gummed surface dampened and rendered adhesive. When, however, the stay strip has become unduly dried out, the moisture received on its gummed surface from said dampening roll is quickly absorbed by the paper and the gum or adhesive thereby prevented from retaining sufiicient moisture to maintain its most effective adhesive qualities.

Because of the aforesaid objectionable features resulting from the undue drying out of rolls of stay material of the character referred to, it has been the main object of my present invention to provide a cheap and simple humidifier adapted for effectively moistening or maintaining moist such rolls of stay material.

To this end the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forthin detail and pointed out in the app ended claimslj Referring now to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a humidifier embodying my invention, having a number of rolls of stay material contained therein. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of a roll supporting device forming part of the humidifier; and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of parts of the humidifier to be hereinafter referred to.

Similar reference characters designate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The humidifier in the form shown in the drawings comprises a somewhat elongated cylindrical-shaped receptacle 1 having at its upper end a removable cover 2 and having at its lower end within the same a reservoir for containing the moisture-producing water, which reservoir may be provided by utilizing the bottom of the receptacle itself but which preferably and as shown in the drawings is provided by a pan 3 removably seated at the bottom of said receptacle.

As a means for supporting the rolls of stay material (indicated at s) Within the receptacle 1, I have provided I a device comprising a supporting base 4 having a central vertically-arranged spindle 5, the said device as a whole being removably located within the receptacle 1 1 and adapted to rest Within the pan 3. In placing a roll of stay material upon this device, the roll is slipped over the upper end of the spindle by entering the latter through the usual central opening in the roll, and then, in the event of such roll being the first or only one to be placed on the device it will drop down upon the base 4. Preferably, and as shown in the drawing, the said base is made in the form of a spider comprising a central hub 6 having radially extending arms 7. This open or spider form of supporting base provides for the practically unobstructed exposure of the supported roll to the moisture arising from the reservoir 3.

As it is usually desired to placea considerable numberof rolls of stay material in the humidifier, and as it to each other in order to permit of the ready access of the moisture to practically the entire exterior surface of the rolls, I have provided roll spacing means in the form of spiders similar to the spindle base, the same comprising a hollow central hub 8 having radially ex tending arms 9. These spacing spiders are adapted to be slipped over the spindle 5 for location between the successive rolls 5, as shown in Fig. 1, and, by reason of their open spider form, maintain the rolls in sulficiently open spaced relation to each other as to expose practically their entire exterior surface to the moisture within the humidifier.

As a further means for assuring a more ready and comis desirable that such rolls be held in spaced relationj plete contact of the moisture with the rolls, I have made the spindle 5 hollow to permit of the circulation therethrough of the moisture and provided the same with perforations 10 through which the moisture may find exit for contact with the inner or adjacent portions of the rolls.

The operation of placing the rolls of stay material upon the holder 45, or removing the same therefrom, may be effected with the holder in position within the receptacle 1, but it is more conveniently effected outside of said receptacle, and this is permitted by the ready removability of the holder from the receptacle.

The reservoir at the bottom of the receptacle 1 may also be filled or replenished in any suitable or desired manner, but as a simple and convenient means for accomplishing such object, I have provided the receptacle 1 with an opening in one side thereof adjacent to its lower end and provided the pan 3 with an extension 3 for extending through said opening into convenient position to have water poured thereinto from the exterior of the receptacle. This permits of the filling or replenishing of the pan 3 without the necessity of removing the same from the receptacle and also without the necessity of removing or otherwise disturbing the rolls of stay material contained in the receptacle. I have herein described the humidifier embodying my invention as being specially adapted for use in moistening, or maintaining moist, rolls of stay material. It will be obvious, however, that the said humidifier may be employed for moistening articles other than rolls of stay material and I therefore intend the invention to be considered accordingly.

What I claim is: 1. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, an article-holding spindle, and article-spacing means. V

2. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, an article-holding spindle, and article-spacing means surrounding said spindle.

3. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, an article-holding spindle, and article-spacing means in the form of radial-armed hubs loosely fitting over the said spindle.

4. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, and a hollow perforated articleholding spindle.

5. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, a hollow perforated articleholding spindle, and article-spacing means .in the form of radial-armed hubs loosely fitting over the said spindle.

6. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, a centrally located hollow perforated spindle adapted to loosely receive thereover rolls of stay material, and radial-armed hubs loosely fitting over the said spindle for location between the rolls of stay material thereon.

7. A humidifiercomprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, and a hollow perforated article-holding spindle supported with one end adjacent to said reservoir.

8. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reser voir, and a hollow perforated article-holding spindle mounted on a base supported in said reservoir.

9. A humidifier comprising'a receptacle having therein a liquid-containing reservoir, and a hollow perforated articleholding spindle mounted on a radial-armed base.

10. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having an opening in one wall thereof, and a liquid-containing reservoir removably located within said receptacle and having an extension thereof projecting through said opening in the receptacle Wall.

11. A humidifier comprising a receptacle having an opening in one wall thereof, a liquidcontaining reservoir removably located within said receptacle and having an extension thereof projecting through said opening in the receptacle wall, and an article-holding spindle supported above said reservoir.

Signed at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York this 9th day of November, A. D. 1906.

HENRY on sMrrH.

Witnesses:

F. K. KNOWLTON, N. P. SANFORD. 

